RAC 'Disappointed'. Community Should Be Angry

The RAC is presumably being polite when it says that it is disappointed at the Government's abandoning of its transport plans after years of work - the STC agrees (http://sustainabletransportcoalitionofwa.blogspot.com.au/2015/06/wonderfully-horrifying-and-depressing.html).

The Western Australian community should be angry at the waste of resources and the continual ignoring of professional advice.

Written and Posted by Ian Ker, Convenor, STCWA

Wonderfully-Horrifying (and Depressing) Trifecta

What a wonderfully-horrifying (and depressing) trifecta of reports juxtaposed in today's West Australian, clearly demonstrating the lack of consistent principle and planning in today's politics at both state and federal levels.

First, there is the report that all transport planning that has been in progress for the past six years under this government is to be dumped ('Key transport plans axed') - almost certainly because the planners have not been coming up with the answers the Premier wants. The replacement plans, of course, won't be finished before the next election, when everything will change yet again.

One of Australia's most respected transport professionals, over 30 years ago, described this state of affairs as 'Planning as a substitute for action'. Some things never change.

Then we have the medical profession calling for more cycleways ('Build more cycleways to stay healthy'), to encourage people to get on bikes and improve their health through exercise. Ironically, this is one area where the WA Government has produced a plan - but unfortunately its funding of it is so woefully inadequate that it will take decades to implement.

And then there is the Federal ALP which, rightly in our view, has agreed to support the Government's fuel excise indexation rather than see the revenue raised so far go back to the oil companies ('Fuel price up twice a year') - but, wrongly in our view, has effectively agreed to all of it being spent on roads rather than on a multi-modal approach to addressing congestion in our cities. 

Written and Posted by Ian Ker, Convenor, STCWA

Federal ALP Agrees With Abbott: Roads, Roads and More Roads

The Federal ALP has changed its position to support fuel excise indexation but only on the condition that $1.1 billion of the $3 billion over four years is spent on rural roads.  http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-23/labor-bows-to-fuel-excise-increase/6566240

The ALP says nothing about the remaining $1.9 billion, which presumably, given Tony Abbott's stated view that the Federal Government should 'stick to its knitting'( which he sees as roads, roads and more roads), will be spent on urban roads. 

Rural roads, where there are no alternatives to road transport, might well be a sensible use of funds, but in urban areas there should at least be the option of spending on alternatives to roads. Even in rural areas, funds could usefully be dedicated to retaining or upgrading rail access (eg for grain in WA).

The STCWA has previously supported fuel excise indexation, but on the condition that the additional revenues be hypothecated to 'walking, cycling and public transport as well as for roads in general' (http://sustainabletransportcoalitionofwa.blogspot.com.au/2014/07/stc-support-for-fuel-excise-indexation.html). We continue to hold that view.

No one, especially Tony Abbott who can ill-afford another billion-dollar budget hole, wants the money from the 2014 fuel excise increase to go back to the oil companies, but Labor has missed a huge opportunity to help safeguard a sustainable future and to differentiate itself from the Government here.

At the same time, Federal MP for Perth, Alannah MacTiernan is sending out a flier rightly criticising the Barnett Government for reneging on its promise to build the MAX light rail and committing to build a non-promise in the Perth Freight Link.

There seems to be an obvious disconnect here.

Written and Posted by Ian Ker, Convenor, STCWA